F-16 fighter jet crash brings fresh scrutiny to Taiwan’s ageing military equipment
Opposition politicians frame incident as readiness problem created by high operational tempo, ageing airframes and slow equipment delivery
The episode on Tuesday has sharpened debate over whether upgrades and new armament purchases can realistically keep pace with increasing wear, maintenance constraints and the rapid modernisation of mainland China’s forces, according to lawmakers and analysts.
The air force said Hsin reported a malfunction of the aircraft’s modular mission computer (MMC) during the sortie, without specifying which systems were affected.
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An air force logistics officer said an internal review showed the aircraft had only experienced routine faults since November, with no reports of major issues involving the MMC or the engine.
It was the second loss of an F-16V since the first squadron entered service in November 2021. A fleet-wide upgrade of 141 jets was completed in 2023.